Rugby World Cup 2003 - The Rugby Widows Weep!

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
Rotherham away the week after as well – their first win of the season no doubt.

Yes, I gather Rotheram are pretty chuffed at the moment. Whenever the word "easybeats" is tossed around, they know it doesn't necessarily apply to them.

I think Deano, great success that he has had, is in trouble.

Yes, well. Last season was the pointer.

And I am so embarrassed I missed the Dallaglio reference.

Anyway, he will continue to get a game because there's no one else. That chap who applauded on his way off the other day - if he's one of the alternatives - hasn't made much of an impression the couple of times I've seen him.

Joe Worsley by the way has been severely reprimanded for acknowledging the crowd after his yellow card – I understand this did not stop an Aussie TV pundit (no name given to me) from suggesting he be executed and England stipped of the win?

Phil Kearns, I think. I'm sure I heard him say it. Great p*sstaker. He's doing a series of ads for Telstra - the phone mob - tied into the WRC. There's one where he accidentally wanders into the England team dressing room. He sees a whiteboard with all sorts of lines and hieroglyphics on it. Beauty, he thinks, and uses his new mobile phone to take a photo of the England team's tactics. He exits one door as some of the England forwards return by another door. Phil is out in the corridor using his phone to report that England are using the same old tactics. Back in the dressing room, the England forwards finish their game of noughts and crosses on the whiteboard! Oldie but a goodie!

In addition Steve Smith (ITV summariser for Uruguay) says he caught an Aussie TV trail for the Uruguay game saying “who is the best XVI man team in the world?”. Just love that Aussie sense of humour – if only they could turn it on themselves more often?

Wishful thinking, I suspect. That level of wit wouldn't exist in Channel 7's promo department.

The BBC report Eddie as saying now is not the time to experiment and that he will continue to play his best XV – this was specifically in response to being asked about Larkham and Gregan.

Yeah well. It's not yet too late, but in two weeks time it will be. Which isn't to say people like Whitaker and Giteau would win the cup for us. But I - and many others - would rather go down attacking than go down impotently, if you'll pardon the imagery, which we will. Why did Eddie persist with Noriega for so long when it was evident that Noriega was past it? So poor young Al Baxter gets tossed straight into the very deep end? The most daring thing Eddie has done as national coach is start Smith and Waugh together. I know it's a long time since Bob Dwyer rode a hunch and plucked Phil Kearns and Timmy Horan, et al, from nowhere and gave them an opportunity - but it feels like only yesterday.

And as for the game breaking try…

Not to mention half the passes in the England - Uruguay match. It's now a joke.

It was nice to see that they, like England, are fallable at times. I expect Mitchell will rocket them now and sort it out though?

I gather they're, um, working on defence. It's why I was worried about the number of easy games the ABs had in the pool matches. They were never tested. Lucky for them they didn't have Namibia instead of Samoa. Their wake-up call would have come against the Boks.

Now, I watched the BBC series "Bargain Hunt" tonight. I love the show. Tonight, the auction rooms were in Leicester! On the way to the auction rooms - Warners, I think - they stopped at the Guild Hall. Was my mind playing tricks? Or were there echoes of young Havak's dainty, slippered, size 18s still echoing from his star turn in the Leicester Primary Year 4 production of "Swan Lake"?

[Havak]

Your mind was playing tricks - though I have been at several rather good Whisky tasting nights in the back rooms of the Guild hall.

Will reply to the rugby stuff later - busy, busy again. Shame.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
Your mind was playing tricks - though I have been at several rather good Whisky tasting nights in the back rooms of the Guild hall.

Ah, yes. I forgot to mention that I did also hear the echoes from the back rooms of a drunken retired tighthead reliving his rugby glory day. Mmmm. I might've forgotten a plural there. Mmmmm. On second thoughts, probably not.

Will reply to the rugby stuff later - busy, busy again. Shame.

Get your bloody priorities right!

With which, he retired to bed and FoxSports and, hopefully, another England loss.

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by finbar
Hey Tamerlin. There's a French lady sailing her surf ski across the Pacific trying to set another record for solo something-or-othering. Why aren't you with her lending moral - or otherwise - support?

This is something I was even not aware of. I am not interested in individual feats whatever the magnitude of the said feat.

For a sport or sporting event to appeal to me there must be something other than a mere egotistic challenge, there must be a gaming or strategical dimension where the competitors have to show skill, dedication and intelligence (be it individual or collective). No wonder why Rugby is the game I prefer.

[Havak]

Yes, well. Last season was the pointer.

To you and me certainly – but I’m not sure Dean Richards got the point.

Anyway, he will continue to get a game because there's no one else

There is an alternative – Martin Corry. He is a number 8 first and foremost even though Clive uses him to cover the back five of the pack. He is a strong ball carrier and the way Dally is not doing that right now he is worth a go. Oh and he is a Tigers player.

Worseley is not having a good tournament – and he is the only other option unless Hill gets fit (Hill plays 8 for Sarries).

Wishful thinking, I suspect. That level of wit wouldn't exist in Channel 7's promo department.

Good old Channel 7.

The commercial though sounds genuinely funny – did you write it?

I know it's a long time since Bob Dwyer rode a hunch and plucked Phil Kearns and Timmy Horan, et al, from nowhere and gave them an opportunity - but it feels like only yesterday.

Bob’s a chancer and an improviser – a risk taker. Eddie comes across as conservative to say the least. I fear he needs to be bullied into risk taking – and who is strong enough? O’Neil?

Not to mention half the passes in the England - Uruguay match. It's now a joke.

Yes ‘lateral’ or ‘flat’ seems to be the word of choice. Andre Watson is the only ref I’ve seen really call it more than once in a game. We are as guilty as anyone on it. Even George is making the passes quite flat after his double step back from the scrum. What has happened to Gregan – four years ago he was an imperious scrummy pestering the oppo, sniping at the fringes and giving clean quick ball to the stand off every time. As it stands now I would not give him a pension move to Tigers (or Rotherham!).

Lucky for them they didn't have Namibia instead of Samoa. Their wake-up call would have come against the Boks.

I thought they had Tonga rather than Samoa? I think Andydog called it right – Straeuli must be optimistic beyond anything he should have expected before Sunday. I still think the ABs will overcome them – but maybe not a landslide this time.

Was Bargain Hunt hosted by The Duke (David Dickinson)? He is some character all right. There is another anchor, similarly eccentric but a few notches lower – Tim somebody or other…

Mmmm. I might've forgotten a plural there. Mmmmm. On second thoughts, probably not.

With which, he retired to bed and FoxSports and, hopefully, another England loss.

Plenty to choose from over the years – hope whichever one it was sent you off to a good sleep.

there must be a gaming or strategical dimension where the competitors have to show skill, dedication and intelligence (be it individual or collective).

The latter point lets England down occasionally – I suspect it’s the dedication that sometimes does for France – they seem to have better ‘headology’ for the better opponents?

[Havak]

The officials have been named and the Kiwi's have got Spreadbury - they will hate him!

Mind you Australia have got the bottle squirter.

Full details are:

New Zealand v South Africa, Melbourne
Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England)
Touch judges: Andrew Cole, Peter Marshall (both Australia)
Television Match Official: Chris White (England)
Assessor: Ian Scotney (Australia)

Australia v Scotland, Brisbane
Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand), André Watson (South Africa)
Television Match Official: Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
Assessor: Michel Lamoulie (France)

France v Ireland, Melbourne
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Touch judges: Chris White (England), Nigel Williams (Wales)
Television Match Official: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Assessor: Stuart Beissel (New Zealand)

England v Wales, Brisbane
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Touch judges: Dave McHugh (Ireland), Joël Jutge (France)
Television Match Official: André Watson (South Africa)
Assessor: Frans Muller (South Africa)

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by Havak
France v Ireland, Melbourne
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Touch judges: Chris White (England), Nigel Williams (Wales)
Television Match Official: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Assessor: Stuart Beissel (New Zealand)

Kaplan and white in the same game... I am convinced now... they are mad!



Or it is a conspiration!

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by Havak
Australia v Scotland, Brisbane
Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand), André Watson (South Africa)
Television Match Official: Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
Assessor: Michel Lamoulie (France)

And I was complaining... you are right Havak, it can always be worse!

[finbar]

Originally posted by Tamerlin
This is something I was even not aware of. I am not interested in individual feats whatever the magnitude of the said feat.

But she's wearing a form-fitting wet suit.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
There is an alternative – Martin Corry. He is a number 8 first and foremost even though Clive uses him to cover the back five of the pack. He is a strong ball carrier and the way Dally is not doing that right now he is worth a go. Oh and he is a Tigers player.

The knob who flew home to be at the birth of his child? What is it with rugby players these days all turning into namby pambys? Half the Wallaby team flew home and back from the last NH tour to see curtain clingers born! Why can't they just take a video of some kid's birth and distribute it? See one placenta, you've seen them all! I mean, can't Corry count? Or didn't he think he'd make the World Cup squad? If he thought he was a chance, he should've applied a cold spoon to the bloody thing! Still, at least they induced his kid. So it will go through life knowing it's exactly as old as it is thanks to a rugby tournament. Serves the brat right.

The commercial though sounds genuinely funny – did you write it?

Oddly enough, I'm not the only one who thinks England's forwards aren't slow just in the leg-speed department.

Bob’s a chancer and an improviser – a risk taker. Eddie comes across as conservative to say the least. I fear he needs to be bullied into risk taking – and who is strong enough? O’Neil?

Yes, I've been surprised by Eddie's conservatism. It would be interesting to know what, if anything, is going on behind the scenes. I suspect the compromise will be - subject to the Wallabies being in control of Scotland - bringing on the likes of Tuquiri and Giteau early in the second half. I just can't see Gregan being replaced early.

What has happened to Gregan – four years ago he was an imperious scrummy pestering the oppo, sniping at the fringes and giving clean quick ball to the stand off every time. As it stands now I would not give him a pension move to Tigers (or Rotherham!).

Four years older, for starters. And four years ago he was dictating a style of play that, like it or not, won a world cup. He's still, basically, playing the same game, if not as well, and, most importantly, the oppo is a wake up to him. They sit on him. I also think that, like Eddie, he finds it hard to consider changing horses.

I thought they had Tonga rather than Samoa?

Yes, sorry. I can only put my error down to salivating at the prospect of watching another vintage England loss. And they didn't show any!

I think Andydog called it right – Straeuli must be optimistic beyond anything he should have expected before Sunday. I still think the ABs will overcome them – but maybe not a landslide this time.

Personally, because of the circumstances, I think it promises to be the match of the tournament, regardless of what happens elsewhere and later. The ABs have copped a hell of a fright, revealing weaknesses in those areas in which the Boks are particularly strong. The Boks are both motivated and confident, though they will miss VanNiekerk, while Hogaard has brought a definite potency that Koen completely lacked. Can the ABs sort out their problems within a week? Do the Boks have the necessary attacking firepower to capitalise? I suspect the latter is what it might come down to, and I'm not sure that they have.

Oh, and I'm still prepared to bet 5 Civ Gold that Umaga won't reappear in the tournament. I think the ABs are sandbagging. How fit can he be? He might come off the bench at best. But then I might have been wrong before on the odd occasion from time to time.

Was Bargain Hunt hosted by The Duke (David Dickinson)? He is some character all right. There is another anchor, similarly eccentric but a few notches lower – Tim somebody or other…

We only ever get David Dickinson hosting it. Fascinating character. Wonderful combination of utter sleaze and obvious knowledge of the trade. Did you know he did time in gaol in his very early days for (from memory) dabbling in ill-gotten goods? Unsurprising when you look at him. I think the show's format is brilliant in its simplicity - competition between two teams, suspense over the outcome at the auction, and informative/educational about antiques.

The latter point lets England down occasionally – I suspect it’s the dedication that sometimes does for France – they seem to have better ‘headology’ for the better opponents?

Thus far, I think England has suffered stage fright. They might get over it. I just wonder whether Clive is of the personality to put their heads in the right place. Time will tell.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
The officials have been named and the Kiwi's have got Spreadbury - they will hate him!

Spreadbury has, I think, been one of the better refs in the tournament. I recall you warning me prior to his first appearance down here earlier this season - I forget which match - but he turned out to be very sensible, far from the pedant you talked about. He called it as it was. He's certainly one of the best communicators on the field.

[ravagon]

Originally posted by Havak

We need to be very careful – and suck them into a forward battle where we will overcome them.

Replace a few words, go back a few years and you could fill in for Monty at El Alamein.
Well ... except that he used his backs really instead of his forwards and, ... ... actually you might do a better job replacing somebody on the other side?

Originally posted by Tamerlin Or it is a conspiration!

If it were a conspiracy then you'd have Mr Hoeniss in there somewhere too I suspect.


Personally I'd rather Tana skip this match, or the majority anyway. Even if he is fully fit he's probably not fully healed - ie: any further damage would compound the problem and might put him out for much longer. Maybe he can make a cameo towards the end?

[finbar]

Originally posted by ravagon
Personally I'd rather Tana skip this match, or the majority anyway. Even if he is fully fit he's probably not fully healed - ie: any further damage would compound the problem and might put him out for much longer. Maybe he can make a cameo towards the end?

How can he be anywhere near fit after an injury like that? How long can he have even been running?

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by finbar


But she's wearing a form-fitting wet suit.

OK, I must admit that some magnitudes are worthy of interest.

[finbar]

Phew!